NRL Cowboys House welcomes first students to new girls’ campus in Townsville

The very first contingent of young women to call the new NRL Cowboys House Girls Campus their ‘home away from home’ are settled and set for a great start to the 2019 school year.

Minister for Housing and Public Works Mick de Brenni said the new girl’s campus marks the start of an exciting journey for 30 students from Queensland’s remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“NRL Cowboys House Girls Campus will provide these promising young ladies with a wonderful range of opportunities – it’s a supportive place to live while they access education and training, form friendships and acquire life skills,” said Mr de Brenni.

“The girls will have access to specialised educational support from North Queensland Cowboys staff, Indigenous community leaders and health professionals,” he said.

Member for Mundingburra Coralee O’Rourke said the Palaszczuk Labor Government has invested $12 million to build the girls campus, supporting more than 80 local jobs during the construction phase.

“Queensland Labor has also committed $2.5 million over four years to support the Cowboys in operating the facility,” she said.

“Gender equality is a core Labor value and we know it’s important for the North Queensland community too.”

Ms O’Rourke said the NRL Cowboys House concept had always included a girls’ campus but the Morrison government in Canberra – which helped fund the boys’ campus – refused to commit to ensuring a fair go for girls.

“Having a boys’ campus but no girls’ campus would have been completely unfair, and the Palaszczuk Government wasn’t going to let that stand so we fully funded it to offer the sort of equal opportunity that North Queenslanders expect,” she said.

“The new girls campus has a dining hall, recreation centre, kitchen, administration building, multi-purpose facilities and up to 50 beds of accommodation.

“It is expected to reach its full capacity of 50 students by the start of the 2020 school year, and neighbours the NRL Cowboys House Boys Campus that opened in January 2017,” she said.

Cowboys Community Foundation spokesman Jeff Reibel said he was delighted to see both campuses operating.

“We’re so excited to offer this opportunity for girls to access the same opportunities currently provided for the boys,” he said.

Mr Reibel explained that students residing at the Boys Campus and Girls Campus come from North Queensland’s most remote communities in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands.

“It’s because of the trust families and their communities have placed in NRL Cowboys House to look after their sons and daughters that we’re able to achieve all that we have,” he said.

“We’re very lucky to have the support of the Palaszczuk Government because the House is a life-changing opportunity.

“We also enjoy support from partners and friends of the House, our patrons and supporters, partner schools, ambassadors, volunteers, service providers and our community.”

ENDS

Media contact:
Shane Watson – 0400 859 356